Finish in sight for 6.6-mile gas line from Coolbaugh to Sanofi

A natural gas line extension more than six miles long is expected to be completed by January, connecting the Sanofi Pasteur campus in Swiftwater to energy company UGI's natural gas service.

MICHAEL SADOWSKI

A natural gas line extension more than six miles long is expected to be completed by January, connecting the Sanofi Pasteur campus in Swiftwater to energy company UGI's natural gas service.

Until then, residents and businesses from Coolbaugh Township through Sanofi's campus around Route 611 will have to deal with the daily disruption of construction.

Surprisingly, however, the construction has caused very few complaints in Mount Pocono despite passing in front of about 100 residences.

"Boy, we were surprised" that the complaint count was so low, council President John Finnerty said. "When they came to us with the plans, we thought we'd be getting all kinds of calls. But it's been very few."

The line has been years in the making, with UGI and Sanofi negotiating on how to get natural gas from UGI's service line at the Pocono Mountains Industrial Park in Coolbaugh Township to Sanofi.

Those negotiations finally closed last year, but not until after the Pocono Mountains Economic Development Corp. had secured millions of dollars in state grants to help the construction process.

The money was used to buy right-of-way and fund the project design.

The line is 6.62 miles long with about 35,000 feet of pipe and will cost UGI about $6.5 million to build.

The original line was constructed under a government contract for Tobyhanna Army Depot, then extended to the business park to provide energy for the Johnson & Johnson distribution center in 2007.

Project officials have said at least seven projects that could have brought as many as 800 jobs decided not to locate in that area because of the lack of natural gas service.

Sanofi has its own costs to prepare its facilities for the natural gas switch.

The company would not release how much the project will cost it, and would not disclose how much the project would save the company.

In three years of the Local Share Assessment grant program, whose state funding is provided by revenue from Mount Airy Casino Resort, the project has received almost $1.86 million, according to state records.

Leonard said that money goes to construction, engineering and design costs.

"The proposed gas line continues to be a priority for the Swiftwater site," local Sanofi Pasteur spokeswoman Ellyn Schindler said in a statement. "The need to diversify available fuel sources for the purpose of managing energy costs is a constant concern for our company, which the proposed line will address."

UGI officials said there are four crews literally working day and night to finish the construction of the extension line.

During the day, crews have been building around Mount Pocono, while at night, crews are building the line through Pocono Mountain School District's East Campus.

The district allowed the company to build the line through the campus, but not for free.

Over the summer, while the sides were negotiating, UGI agreed to convert all of the campus' heat to natural gas for a nominal fee.

Based on the campus' past oil heating usage, UGI officials said the district likely would save $250,000 a year switching to natural gas.

District officials also said they wanted the line extended to the Clear Run Campus on Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township — about a half-mile of line — to switch the two schools there to natural gas.

Pocono Mountain spokeswoman Wendy Frable said the project is on hold due to a right-of-way approval.

UGI also agreed to limit construction on district property to night, so as not to interfere during school hours.

Construction only takes place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The construction at the school was originally supposed to be completed by late November, Frable said, but weather and permitting pushed the date back.

Frable said construction at the school is about half complete.

The line as designed passes about 20 other businesses and 100 homes.

Any of those properties, said Becky Eshbach, UGI's sales manager for the east region, will be eligible to change their service over to natural gas.

She said the company will begin a door-to-door canvassing project in the spring to let those homes and businesses know the details of switching to natural gas.

Other homes and businesses, however, are out of luck — for now.

UGI officials said it would depend on the demand in specific neighborhoods and areas as to whether UGI would extend its line past where it will be when it's finished this winter.

"The more interest we receive, the better chance there is to extend the (line)," said Eshbach.

However, UGI officials said it likely would take a large business asking for the line extension to generate any interest in further expansion.

One of those potential businesses has already been identified — Mount Airy Casino Resort.

UGI officials relayed that Mount Airy representatives are "very interested" in exploring the possibility of extending the line in the future on Woodland Road to the casino.

Efforts to confirm that with Mount Airy officials were unsuccessful.

"When large customers like Sanofi come forward and want to convert to natural gas, it brings the line into places it couldn't go before because of the cost," said Allen Westbrook, vice president of marketing at UGI in Bethlehem. "The line will now be in Mount Pocono, but it probably wouldn't have gotten there if Sanofi had not come forward. It usually takes those large, industrial users."

The project cleared a small hurdle on Dec. 10 when Mount Pocono Borough Council granted a time extension for construction.

The borough has an ordinance for all construction to be halted from Dec. 15 through March 15.

Normally, the weather has dictated that date, leaving rock-hard ground.

However, this year, higher temperatures have made it easier and the borough allowed the continued construction through Jan. 15.

UGI would have to ask for another extension then if the company needed it.